Tuesday, June 26, 2012

The Truth, Inadvertently

There is good news on the effort to preserve the right to vote.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, in 2012 "34 states considered voter ID legislation. This year, legislation was introduced in 32 states. That includes new voter ID proposals in 14 states, proposals to strengthen existing voter ID laws in ten states, and bills in ten state to amend existing laws, many of them new voter ID laws passed in 2011."

Fortunately, most of those efforts have failed, including in New Hampshire. There, Democratic Governor John Lynch has vetoed a bill which would have required a driver's license to vote in this November's elections. In subsequent elections, a driver's license, miilitary ID, a state-issued (non-driver's license) ID, or an affidavit would have sufficed. "The use of this inappropriate affidavit," Lynch noted, "will cause confusion, slow the voting process and may result in the inability of eligible voters to cast their vote."

That is the point, he probably realizes, with voter suppression initiatives everywhere. Fortunately, we have confirmation (or at least evidence) in a gaffe committed by a Pennsylvania legislator, House Majority Leader Mike Turzai. In a speech at a GOP State Committee meeting last weekend, Turzai gloated (video, below)

We are focused on making sure that we meet our obligations that we’ve talked about for years. Pro-Second Amendment? The Castle Doctrine, it’s done. First pro-life legislation – abortion facility regulations – in 22 years, done. Voter ID, which is gonna allow Governor Romney to win the state of Pennsylvania, done.

Turzai's admission should- should- make it a little more difficult for the mainstream media to continue covering the issue as if the Gas and Oil Party is attempting to depress the vote out of good intentions. It has been convenient to ignore the obvious, not only in voting policy but in education policy- or as Will Bunch asks "Next? How about admitting that vouchers are a plot to destroy public education?"